Wichita eagle., 1887-11-04

/ he bones dIt titcu tfANA 80
and laid away forever IN the to1no0 u 'ii'
arcadeS.
| could relate many things Of Genoa
besides what are inlperfectly describes II
these pages. but the horror of proving d
bore constrains me to pass them over,
and take up the events of our paSS2>9e
from the city Of palaces, 10 our i 1I1
place OF debarkation-AleX We
boarded this steamer. which is
maiiboat of the RUbatanlo
We retired at once 10 our
up at Leghorn. Here the boat remained
al day. taking on freight and receiving
passengers.
When we got under weigh again dis
covered we had about thirty-five saloon
passengers, about half that number of
second class and upwards OF two hun
dred steerage. Our little party of three
are the only Americans on board and
besides an English couple bound for IN
dia all the rest are Italians. Among
these is paSha of Egypt, secretary OF
the l.hedive and the president of the tri-
bunal or chief Judge Our chances for
amusement in the limited circle who
!
can't even talk 10 the crew and must make
our wants known TO the steward and
walters by signs. Even the meals that
we partake OF twice a day are foreign u
us. Except the inevitable ''pOuleJ
and sahde. To which from
sheer necessity our stomachs have
become naturalized. The absorbing and
convenient time killing game of whist Is
without its usuaI champions and
the monotonous inquiry what is
trumps" Is now monotonous only be-
cause ii is never heard. The first day
out the sea was rough. and as q conse-
quence the lunch table was deserted.
We arrived at Naples III the evening
and tied up opposite. We remained here
% hours. dlscharging freight on lighters.
getting rid of all steerage passengers and
waiting for the mails from Rome. As
Alexandria had guaranteed against Nj
pies on account Of the cholera. no pass
engers destined for that port Were al
lowed to land, so we lay there IN sight Of
Nesuvius, famed by the gentle breezes
of this glorious cline. Yet bewaihng our
fate and relegating Thos. Cook & Son to
the demnition bOw-wOws, for selecting
a route in which the stea rnsh:p is a mere
coaster.
[ can recall but one incident of
that dreary IS hours IN the bay
of Naples that excited one iota OF
interest. We were sitting on the benches.
Estlessly idling the hours away, when
suddenly a horrible, bloed-curdling sound
at the ships side in the water told us that
man was drowning. We all rushed 10
the boats side, when a nude man Except
as to the lOins) i'll the water raised a smli-
ing face and to our great disgust signitied
that he was there for our amusement and
his benefit. He requested some one %
throw penny in the water and he would
dive for it and bring it up in his teeth.
This he did as many as twenty times,
never missing once, and to further make
display OF his amphibiOus qualities,
dived underneath the boat, coming up on
the opposite side.
Finally, when the mails We're all on
board, we steamed out of the harbor, and
soon the myriad of lights in Naples were
left glimmering III the distance, and we
sought our touches. Immediately over
the screw of the boat. that pounded
away like a triphammer ali night long,
and each successive night since We
have been Quartered in this delightful
boat. The next morning we passed close
by the active volcano OF StrOuboi, and
not long after steamed through the
narrow straight of Messina anchoriug
opposite to this plague spot, where pee-
pie have been dying of cholera ike
swine for the last two months. fourteen
new cases being reported for that day by
the ships surgeon who went on land with
the yawl that carried out and returned
the mail
We were there some three hours and
all the time the snip flew the yellow flag,
and the little boats from shore swarueJ
around us, and the greasy mail bags
were loaded into the hold Of the vessel.
and the surgeon and sailors who had
been ashore mixed with the passengers
without dofipg q rag which they had
worn in the polluted city. And yet tins
boat steams into the harbor Of AIgNan-
dria with clean bill Of
health, unloads It's passengers
and freight, and the law Of
quarantine. like some other laws 7 know
of is Observed more IN the breach than
the keeping Then we passed ont Of the
harbor OF Messina, past Catania-auotbcr
plague infested spot-past ancient SYRIA
cuse. into the broad. open sea, wher. no
sky. until the approach Of evening. when
the latter became obscmed and soon the
muttering5 OF distant thunder and the
frequent flashes Of lightning for5ode1
a storm az sea. The black clouds banked
up against the wind. but when the wind
changed it bore down rapidly upon U5
and there was more than one heart that
quaked with fear Of the angry elements
For my part Egypt and the Holy Land
had lost all their charms. Wichita aEsi
little yellow house I know OF was good
enough for me. The clouds Were Of inl-Y
blackness, the rain came down ia
torrents, the thunder was ucessan.
and talk Of chain lightning. sheet
and the railroad map ot Illinois
depicted IN the heavens bat I tell you we
had the whole display mere on the boards
at one time. An electric shower Yes.
bat the next one | am called On 70 WIT +
ness / want 10 = on terra tirma. with q
cellar close bv. Well. that storm Cc- .
CURED in the precise locality where tlc .
apostles Paul and Luke encountered one +
when the former was on his way % .
Rome. q prisoner. more than 1900 years
ago. OF course this would bear ng CONE .
parisou To that. They Were crowded into
3 smaller vessel. tvJ hundred and ser-
antv-six souls IN alL It was before tle +
discovery Of the mariner cDuDaS5 and +.
the storm RACED with s1ch fearful vso-
Ieuce for fourteen days that tl.eF -aH
neither sun, moon nor stars. and then
terror was such that they ate nothing for +
'ne same length Ol time Their vrl
had pUs out from Alexandra wl-a